


I'll be good

by Ki_the_fangirl



Series: Dadvid [2]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: ADHD, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Autism, Child Abuse, David and Gwen Adopt Max, Max'x parents are a bunch of assholes, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, They both want Max to be happy and loved, dadvid, not gwenvid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2018-12-23 23:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12000645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ki_the_fangirl/pseuds/Ki_the_fangirl
Summary: Max's parents actually do show up to parents day; to take him home early. When Gwen and David witness something they weren't supposed to they have to try and find a way to get Max away from his parents as soon as possible.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the short chapter everyone! But once I get into this story they should get longer.

“Max! You know, you are really pushing my patients today! I have half a mind to tell your parents about this when they get here.” David lectured, pointing at Max to try and show some sort of authority. However, this triggered something in Max and he started yelling back and David's face immediate dropped.

“HOW ARE YOU NOT GETTING THIS!? My parents don't care about shit like this! THEY ARE NOT. COMING. EVER!!!” Before he had the chance to reassure the boy that his family did care there was a loud knock at the door that immediately caught David (and everyone else's) attention. Gwen, David and Max all walked over to the door. The door opened dramatically and when the small cloud of dust faded there stood a couple dressed in crisp business clothes. Their striking green eyes, which glanced around unimpressed, immediately gave away that they were Max's parents. David smiled brightly and got down to Max's level. 

“See Max! I told you they cared!” Max's mother looked at the child with disgust.

“Maxwell.” Her voice alone was dripping with venom which made Gwen incredibly uneasy. Max took a slow and cautious step forward towards the cold pair. “Well, are you going to lead us to our seats or are you going to stand there and be a waste of space?” 

“I'm sorry mother.” He said, his voice completely different from anything else anyone at the camp had heard before. He didn't look at Gwen or David as he walked passed them to their table. He waited for both of his parents to sit before taking his place between them. He looked tense and his eyes were trained to the hard, smooth wood of the table in front of him.

The quartermaster came by with food but Max's parents both bitterly informed him that they are before they came. Max was still silent, his gaze unwavering as his parents talked quietly. Gwen and David shared a look and David shrugged before approaching the pair and sitting down across from them.

“Hi, I'm David! I am one of the counselors here at camp. Your son-” Max's mother met his eyes and spoke over him, her voice bitter and cruel.

“We apologise for our son. We received the call about his behaviour, we raised him to be better than that. But max has never been successful at being anything more than a burden.” David looked at Max, who was looking at him with a look of betrayal before darting his eyes back to the table. Max knew that because David told his parents that he was going to be punished. David tripped over his words trying to clear Max's name.

“No, your son is actually a pleasure to have at camp he just-”

“There is no need to try and defend him. You were very clear over the phone. Now, if you would excuse us we were trying to have a discussion.” David didn't have a choice but to return to Gwen. 

“Alright campers! It's time for our final activity! Campbell called, ready to end this day and get these adults off his property before there is an incident. Once lead outside Max and his parents sat in the back. David and Gwen sat in the middle, close enough to Max to make sure he was okay. The mindless chatter turned to silence as Cameron came on stage.

“Boy have we had some fun. But sadly, it's time we ended parents day by having our campers show you all that they’ve learned here at Camp Campbell to a degree that will surely legitimize the legality of this camp. Let's start with Magic boy!” He left and a disheveled Harrison was tossed onto the stage. As Harrison began Max started to space out, his mind wandering to the adults on either side of him. He started to panic as thoughts and memories floated through his mind. 

Gwen sneekly turned around while Nerf was talking about the power of words and noticed that Max was hyperventilating. Unable to do anything with his parents there she tapped on David and motioned for him to turn around. They shared a look before getting up and smoothly walking backstage to talk. 

“I knew it. David, I told you that there was something off about Max. The whole time he has been at camp I have been getting abuse vibes from him.” David's eyes widened.

“Woah there, that is a severe accusation. He could just not like his parents. I didn’t agree with my parents on a lot of things.”

“Listen… That is more than a disagreement, he is scared. But you are right, we should look into it more. We can calmly ask Max about it after all the parents leave.”

David nodded and they walked back to where everyone was gathered only to find that Max’s family had disappeared. The two shared a look before running, leaving as Preston got into his position for his play. As they reached the mess hall there was a loud ‘smack’ and the pair hurried around the corner to the other side and David felt his heart plummet. Max was on the ground, breathing hard as his parents stood above him, their backs to the shocked councilors. His mother's hand still raised and Max had a red handmark that took up over half of his face and a shallow cut from the corner of his eye across his cheek (from his mother's ring). His eyes met David's but before Max could say anything he was pulled up my his father.

“You will never be anything but a fuck up Maxwell. Come on, we are going home now.” He said, pulling Max so hard that he stumbled forward. He looked back and forth between Gwen and David, tears threatening to overflow.

“Excuse me, where are you taking Max?” David finally jumped in, cautiously reaching for the boy.

“We are taking it home.” Gwen felt something flare up inside her. It. It. They didn’t even see Max as a person. She felt like she was going to throw up. She shoved David aside and grabbed Max’s other arm, making his father raise an eyebrow at her.

“I’m sorry but you signed your SON up to spend the whole summer here.” She said, scared to try and pull Max to her in fear of hurting the child but settled for hoping her touch could bring some kind of comfort. 

“Well he doesn’t even deserve this shit camp. He is ours and we are taking him home now.”

“We saw you hit him. We could file a report.”

“You have no evidence. And it is our word against yours.”

“And it is Maxs word above all.” 

“Maybe. And what exactly happened Max?” His father asked squeezing the small boy so hard it was beginning to bruise. All eyes were on Max, half full of sadness and love and half filled with anger and hate. Max looked at all of them, his eyes locking onto Gwens. His face twisted in pain as his father began twisting his arm.

“The cat scratched my face…” His voice came out as more of a whimper. His father loosened his grip and Max looked back to Gwen and david as his dad began pulling him to the car. The child's look turned frantic as he was being drug to the black vehicle and all David and Gwen could do is watch.


	2. Chapter 2

“David… there isn't anything we can do right now… the best thing to do is go help Campbell finish up parents day…” Gwen said, keeping her voice calm and steady. David looked lost, his happy demeanor was completely diminished as his eyes were locked to the spot where the car was that took Max away about five minutes ago. Gwen touched David's shoulder gently, drawing his attention to her. “Let's get back to the other kids…”

His eyes met hers and he gave a slow but silent nod. He stood for another moment before turning and walking back to where the group had finished and was now saying their goodbyes. Gwen watched him leave before hurrying to catch up.

‘At least Campbell seemed to be able to keep his shit together long enough for this day to finish without any arrests…’ Gwen thought to herself and she saw Nerf hugging his mother goodbye before she was pulled back onto the bus by her guards.

David had already started saying his farewells to, talking with Harrison's parents. The still seemed frightened and afraid which sat poorly with Gweb. He might be kind of annoying sometimes but Harrison is a good kid. He deserves to be loved, and seeing the boy standing alone made her a little upset. She gave a soft smile. She may have lost Max today but she'll be damned if another kid is left feeling hurt and unloved. Taking long strides she walked up the the top hat clad boy.

“Hey Harrison.”

“Oh… hey Gwen. Shouldn't you be talking to parents or something?” He asked, his eyes looking up at hers for a moment before darting to his parents.

“They're wrong about you, you know?” The boy made a small noise of confusion and Gwen knelt down. “Your parents. They are wrong about you. You aren't a monster, there is nothing wrong with you. You are just a child with a special gift. And it's amazing Harrison. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.” Harrison hugged her and she stumbled and fell on her butt in surprise but hugged the boy back. 

“Thanks Gwen…” Harrison pulled away with a smile before running over to Narris and her family. Gwen looked at David who, though talking with Erids dads in a happy tone she noticed a few things off with the older male. ‘Turns out Psych wasn’t such a stupid choice.’ She thought as she looked over David. His shoulders were drooping, his arms were lying straight at his sides, his voice was monotone and his gaze seemed to go straight past the gay couple. 

Luckily the last of parents trickled out and Gwen sighed with relief and hurried over to David. “How are you doing buddy…?” She asked cautiously and David met her eyes. He shook his head.

“This is my fault…” he whispered, his voice trembling. Gwens eyes widened and she grasped his shoulders roughly. 

“Look at me David. This isn’t your fault.”

“But I… but I insisted on doing parents day… I brought them here… I didn’t notice when they disappeared during the show… Now Max is gone…”

“David, listen to me. There is no way you could have known this would happen… Please don’t blame yourself. There is nothing we can do now… It is out of our hands…” Gwen could feel herself getting emotional as she stared at the wreck of a man standing in front of her as she pleaded with him. She was about to continue when she heard someone yell her name. She turned and say Nikki staring at her. “Yes Nikki?”

“Where is Max? We can’t find him.” Nikki’s bright eyes were filled with curiosity and an underlying look of fear of where her best friend went. 

‘A fear that is very warranted…’ She thought as she focused on her wording as to not worry the young girl.

“Max went home with his parents.” 

“Max’s parents seemed like mean people.” All gwen could do was give a small nod and usher the small girl inside.

••••••••••

“When will you learn to just fucking listen Maxwell!?!” The sound of glass shattering rang loudly through the near silent house. A small, blue clad boy cowered in the corner of the large kitchen, a shattered beer bottle on the floor besides him as well as small cuts littering his hands where he protected his face.

“I’m sorry!” Max stuttered, hugging himself tightly.

“Sorry isn’t good enough! I wish you were never born! You are useless! I swear to God I would kill you myself but it would be a waste of a good bullet!” Max was yanked up by his arm and felt his head smash into the cold marble counter as his father held his head down painfully. 

“Since you couldn’t do something as simple as cleaning the kitchen you can finish it with your fucking toothbrush and sleep outside.” His dad lifted Max’s head and threw him to the floor before stomping out of the room. As soon as he was gone Max broke down in sobs. It felt like he broke a rib and it hurt to breath but he still got up and walked to the bathroom, grabbing his toothbrush and the bottle of bleach. 

He finished the counters before leaving his toothbrush so his father knew he obeyed before sneaking into his room, grabbing Mr. Honeynuts and putting on another jacket before leaving the large house, making sure that the door was locked behind him. He started down the long pathway that separated their house from the rest of the world. His stomach let out a hungered growl and he squeezed Mr. Honeynuts a little tighter before wandering into the dark, humming softly to distract himself from the cold. 

‘We'll begin  
With a spin  
Traveling in  
The world of my creation  
What we'll see  
Will defy  
Explanation’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The version of Pure Imagination that Max is humming is by Flannel Graph. It is my favourite and I would highly recommend listening to it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer comes to a close and David and Gwen venture to Max's home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So some shit happened and I am in a really really bad place at the moment. I tried writing this chapter over and over but it never seemed good enough. I had to skip a section but I like the rest of it. Well... I like it enough to post it.

Summer was coming to a close and as David was helping the kids pack Gwen searched for a certain child's files. With a breath of relief she pulled out a menila folder setting it flat on the desk. ‘Max’. She opened it up and frowned. The first page was completely blank except Max's name and age. She flipped the page but to her disappointment that was it. 

‘God, this is one of those moments I really wish that this camp followed legal rules.’ She thought with a defeated sigh. They were nowhere near close to finding Max and this is the one lead they had. She ran her fingers through her brown hair and put the papers pack. Standing, she gave a little stretch before leaving the small cabin to find her brown haired companion.

“I couldn't find anything David… I don’t know if there is anything else we can do but wait until next summer...” David frowned and shook his head, not wanting to accept her words as truth. 

“There has to be something else we can do Gwen…” he paused, rubbing the back of his neck. “I might have an idea… it might not be the most… legal thing but it's not that bad.” Gwen was taken aback and raised an eyebrow in curiosity, silently urging him to go on. “Maybe Nikki or Neil have his phone number that we could trace. This may not sound good but I am actually pretty nifty when it comes into hacking. It's a skill Campbell made me pick up in case he got in trouble.” Gwen thought about it before realising that it might be the only option. 

“If it can lead us to Max it is worth a shot…” She offered a half smile, hoping it looked reassuring because it sure as hell didn’t feel like it. David smiled and rubbed her back, sensing her sadness and doubt, before walking over to Nikki and Neil as Gwen started ushering the children onto the waiting bus. 

(Here is the skip guys. I tried writing out this part but to be honest, it was complete shit. I want to update but I also don’t want to have it be crap. Basically this is from the time the kids get on the bus and get picked up to when David and Gwen get to Davids home. Again, I’m sorry about skipping this part, maybe when I am in a better mental state and able to write more I will go back and write this section.)

“Are you sure this will work David…?” A very skeptical Gwen asked from her spot seated beside David on his light grey sectional. David was sat in the corner, a small yellow pillow in his lap with his laptop on it. He was typing too fast for Gwen to keep up with and he paused to take a quick sip on water from his glass on the wood table. He has been silent since they got to his home, immediately diving into tracking Max’s phone.

Gwen awkwardly glanced around before getting up and after a small stretch, going to the kitchen to get some water for herself. It took her a few tries to find the right cabinet and when she did David's victorious shouts made her nearly drop her glass. She set the glass safely on the counter and ran back into the lounge. David was standing, phone in hand and his laptop now shut and on the couch.

“I found Max! The adress is about 40 minutes from here.” David exclaimed, showing her the address on his phone screen.

“Well what are we waiting for! Time is of the essence here.” Gwen said, following up with her offer to Drive which David declined before getting into the Drivers seat. The stressed pair got there in about 25 minutes seeing as David was speeding most of the way there. They pulled in front of a small army green house. David and Gwen shared a look, a deep breath and a small, encouraging smile before exiting the car. 

David knocked on the door and was prepared to face the cold demeanor of the young boy's parents and both were shocked when a woman who looked about their age answered the door. She was wearing a white blouse with navy blue polka dots and a navy blue skirt, her wavy brown hair in ringlets down about 4 inches past her shoulders. 

“Can I help you?” She asked, her voice was young and happy a slight Irish accent undertoning her words. She smiled at the pair, helping them feel at ease.

“We were looking for someone, I think we have the wrong house.” Gwen said, giving the woman a small smile, to which she tilted her head and then her face lit up with recognition. 

“Wait… Are you David and Gwen by any chance?” She asked. David smiled and nodded and the womans smiled, holding out a hand. “I’m Laura (Lar-a), come on in.” She led the duo inside and showed them to the couch. “Max! There are people here to see you.” She called and sat on the couch along with the counselors. After about two minutes another woman came out of one of the back rooms. Her straight blond hair fell to the middle of her back and she was wearing a black shirt as well as a army green coverup. 

She looked at the two intruders for a few seconds before speaking. “Who are they? Max is freaking out in the back room.” 

“Oh, um, I’m David and this is Gwen. We are the counselors at the summer camp Max goes to.” She nodded and disappeared down the corridor again. 

“Roommate?” Gwen asked and Laura shook her head. 

“That’s my wife Cassie. We take Max in when he needs somewhere to go. I’m sure you are here because you heard about Max’s situation?”

Gwen nodded and was about to speak when Cassie emerged again with Max hiding behind her legs. He had a white bandage wrapped around his head. His eyes met Davids and he looked down, making David want to hug the small child. He stood up and walked over, kneeling in front of Max. 

“Are you okay buddy…? We were so worried about you.” Max moved around Cassie's legs and looked from David and Gwen before running and wrapping his small arms around David's neck.

“I can't believe you really came…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter.

The minutes ticked by and silence had fallen over the room. Max still stood nuzzled against David, his small arms grasping the mans shirt. Cassie and Laura looked at Max before looking at one another and sharing a small nod. Gwen was eying the pair with weary caution, still very hesitant at the strangers whom Max clung to with such trust. Finally Max pulled himself away from David, his eyes downcast and a sombre look making both Gwen and David feel hollow, only regret sitting in the pit of their stomachs.

The boy wandered back to Laura and stood between her and her wife. David stood up and eyes the… the family. He didn’t dare fight the smile that tugged at his lips but he also couldn’t fight the questions in his mind. Gwen looked at him and caught on, asking if they could maybe talk to Laura and Cassie alone. Max immediately met her eyes but exactly what she saw flicker in his she didn’t know. Laura smiled at Max and gave his hand a small, reassuring squeeze. 

“It’ll be okay Max. We won’t take long, do you want to go into our room and watch the new Simpsons with Finnian?” Maxes green eyes lit up and a small smile appeared on his face.

“You mean it!? But what about you guys, we always watch it together?” Cassie laughed and ruffled his hair, max swatting away her hand and frowning. He smiled slightly again when she gave him a small nod and once Laura confirmed it he gave a quiet thank you before disappearing down the hall. Once he was gone and the door was shut Laura smiled at Gwen and David before motioning for them to sit, offering them a drink or something to drink. 

Gwen turned her down as they all sat on the comfortable grey sofa that stood in the living room. There was a moment of awkward silence that fell over them as both parties figured out exactly how to approach this… rather sensitive subject. Gwen was the first to push through and actually speak up, her words filled with accusations and hurt right from the start.

“If you knew Max’s situation why didn’t you call CPS or the police? Why would you let him go back there if you knew it was bad for him?” 

“It was against Max’s wishes. He knows his situation better than anyone else. You listen to him sob and beg for you to not tell anyone because it will make things worse; than you may judge us. For now we will remain a safe place for Max. It is all we can do at this point and we don’t want to risk losing his trust.”

There was silence as David and Gwen thought over what she had said. It did, in a way, make sense to them but they couldn’t help but feel like their had to be a way to do more than just provide a temporary safe place. Their eyes were locked with the other pair as they debated their next words.

“But Max… Max never told us that. We aren’t his safe place; what if… What if we called in the report? We found out on our own, you can even pretend you had no idea we would do this. But… but we can’t just let this continue, I will even adopt him myself I just can’t watch him go through what I had to… I can’t…” Davids words faltered as he struggled to articulate the feelings that overwhelmed him. 

The two women sat in silence, their faces unsure as the ran through Davids words and what percussions may follow. “I don’t think it will be as easy as you may think but we want what is best for Max. But I need you to promise us this…” Cassie shared a glance with Laura and a small nod. “You need to follow through with this. We can’t adopt Max even if we wanted to.” It was the last of this that made Gwen finally speak up.

“Why can’t you?” Laura instinctively let out a sad “huh” as she strung her fingers through her hair. 

“We had been trying to adopt a child for a while but none of the agencies here will work with us since we are in a same sex marriage. It may be legal now but places still have the right to refuse service… We gave up on trying about 6 months ago.” Silence fell over them again as David and Gwen looked back and forth between their solomon expressions. 

“I’m… I’m sorry…” Laura shook her head, silently relaying what he quickly complied. “But I promise, I care about Max and if this is what it takes to make him safe and happy then I will do it.”


	5. Please Read

Hey everyone. So for those of you who might not of heard this was a huge earthquake that struck Anchorage Alaska yesterday morning. I was at work when the 7.0-7.2 magnitude quake hit my building. My whole crew dove for safety under our desks and watched in terror and panic as the whole building was thrown violently back and forth. Things came crashing to the floor, ceiling panels broke, huge metal cabinets and boxes fell, littering the warehouse. A few moments later as we finally got up and started checking on each other we were his again by a huge aftershock wave measuring in at 5.7. After that I began smelling chemicals getting strong in the air I quickly yelled for everyone to evacuate. We made it upstairs in two runs because of aftershock that kept hitting one after another. We all had to hide upstairs for about 20 minutes until the main bout of aftershocks subsided. After we were informed about the major gas leak downstairs and we were all sent home. The roads were broken, cracked, caved in and it looked like something you would see in a movie. After about an hour and a half of driving and continuing aftershock waves I made it safely home with my family. Our house was fine with the exception of a few broken things, but we had lost power, which means we lost heat and seeing as I am allergic to the cold and it was only 23 degrees out we had to figure out something fast. We all ran around packing bags of essentials as more aftershock waves kept coming. Our power finally returned after about 45 minutes and my aunt and uncle went to check on the neighbors. While they were gone I was alone through about 4 more aftershocks. The aftershock continued all day and night and we are still feeling some now, almost 36 hours later. I got lucky. I was uninjured. My family was uninjured. I was able to stay safe and find a support group of family and friends back home in Washington. But this event left me scared, anxious and on edge, jumping at every noise and movement out of fear of being hit again. There has been at least 45 aftershocks all 2.5 or higher (one just shook us as I am writing this) and we are still getting them. My friends and family say how I am feeling is okay but it is really hard to deal with… I am going to try to use writing as a… way to cope so maybe this will help. If any of you have been through anything like this or could even just lend an ear I would be so grateful. I will be posting this on all my stories and hopefully I can bring you all an update soon. Until then, please stay safe, tell someone you love them, appreciate your family and take a moment to just enjoy life. When I thought there was a chance I might not be able to do those things again I was heartbroken. So please, you never know when tragedy might strike. This world is an amazing thing, don’t let its beauty get lost in the flurry of life. I love you all, stay safe.


End file.
